Teenager refused hysterectomy

17th January 2008

Mid-Essex Hospital NHS trust has said it will not permit a hysterectomy to be performed on a 15-year old girl, Katie, who has cerebral palsy.

Katie's mother, Mrs Thorpe, said the trust was influenced by"political correctness" and that she had wanted her daughter to have the operation to stop menstruation. A spokeswoman for Mid Essex Hospital NHS Trust said: "Before we make
any decision to operate on a patient we look at each case on an
individual basis. This applies in the case of Katie Thorpe and we have met with the family to discuss this."